Need to set up an office in El Paso, Texas or relocate? Do you have a new business or are you stepping up from a home based business?
El Paso Texas is a very unique city, and this has some major consequences for the commercial real estate available for rent there. People who haven’t spent time there often think of El Paso as a small town; however, its population exceeds 700,000, and when combined with the bordering city of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the area becomes the most populous area on any international border. in the world with more than 2 million people. El Paso’s population is also very young, the median age is just 27, and it is one of the fastest growing cities in the county and the second safest. So you can see the potential of doing business here.
Despite being the fourth largest city in Texas and a major international trade location, El Paso really does have a small town mentality in many ways. Unlike most cities of this size, there is not an abundant supply of high-rise office buildings or large-scale office parks. It is one of the few cities of this size that does not have a professional sports team. Without any focused commercial office areas, one will find El Paso to be very spread out. So, compared to other metropolitan complexes, the option that suits your needs may not be so obvious.
1) Rent – The first thing you learn in real estate school is location. Choosing a location that is close to a main street or highway with good visibility is good advice for an office in any city. In El Paso, however, rather than a vibrant headquarters district, you’ll find the city spread out well over 200 square miles and divided east and west by the Franklin Mountains. You’ll find a great selection of department stores and retail space in malls throughout the city. While these spaces may suit your business, these types of spaces can prove more expensive in the long run, both in actual costs and in lost visibility to your potential customers. So the question is, where do you look? As you can already see, finding an office for rent in El Paso is a unique situation, while in most other cities you can easily identify where most of the offices are located. The best way to see El Paso is a giant suburb. First you need to decide which side of the city. The east side is the fastest growing, and the west side is well established and has a higher concentration of higher income households. Just like in a small town, you should start looking at the main streets. Busy streets to consider here would be:
Lee Trevino
Saragossa
George Dieter
Vizconde Boulevard
Montana (although I wouldn’t recommend going too far east)
low hill
Respiratory tract
I-10 frontage (entry gate)
If you’re on one of these streets and can get a good rate, I think you’ll be ahead of the game. Being a border city, there are many industrial parks and storage areas, on streets such as Calle Rojas, also near the Fort Bliss military base and many other parts of the city. Although many of these can be converted to offices, I wouldn’t consider them your first choice if you want some foot traffic and be conveniently located where people regularly travel. The closest thing to an office “zone” is downtown El Paso, with the rest blending throughout the city in residential and commercial areas. However, in the city center you may have to deal with more congestion, parking issues, and more commutes. Although the city is trying to revitalize the missing “business center”, the city center is still at a low point of its old days, with many dilapidated and underutilized buildings. Promising projects are underway there, but apart from a few national banks, much of the concentrated corporate presence left many years ago.
2) Price – Price is usually an important factor for most companies. Generally speaking, the west side will have higher rates, and the lower valley will be the cheapest just like the northeast; however, it can be difficult to find space in those areas. For office space, we find that the median price per square foot is about $17.
3) Size – Size is an important factor. Here we assume that you are looking for your first office space. There are some locations that offer office suite spaces which are typically much smaller, 1 person offices and in many cases can grow with your needs, either with more spaces or by moving into your own private suite. However, sometimes these spaces aren’t really “yours” so to speak and are known as “Virtual Offices” so make sure you know if it’s a designated space or not. In a virtual setup, it’s hard to leave things in them and you have to schedule when you’re using that office space or bill for the time you spend there. El Paso offers some dedicated suites that we will talk about later in this article. El Paso has dedicated and virtual office suites available on both the east and west sides. This is a good option for a startup.
4) Amenities – It’s always nice to get a little more for what you pay for. Do you offer concierge service for your space or free Internet service? Some leasing companies have their own IT department and therefore tenants in a space can take advantage of IT staff. Whatever it is, these are extras that can help you weigh your decision. The El Paso culture is definitely open to negotiation. If the price is more rigid than you would like, get value added in benefits.
